Everyone who believes the Bible knows that salvation has come to mankind.  At the fulness of time, God sent His Son to redeem man and adopt those who would obey the gospel into His spiritual family (Galatians 4:1-5).

We know this truth because God has revealed it to us through His inspired apostles and prophets who confirmed their word with signs and wonders (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:4).  The apostles wrote down the revelation that revealed God’s plan of salvation so that man could know and obey it (Ephesians 3:1-5).  This plan is the gospel of Christ, and it is God’s power unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

God has also revealed to us how to maintain our salvation once we obey the gospel of Christ. Peter reminds us that God has given us all things that are needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).  Our job is to listen to God.  The Hebrews writer exhorts us to pay closer attention to the things that we have heard (Hebrews 2:1) and then warns us of the danger of not doing so.

Hebrews 2:3 (ESV)
³  How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

That is a good question, isn’t it?  First, we take note of the fact that this salvation is great.  It is a great salvation because it came about by a great sacrifice.  God, in what was not only the greatest sacrifice that has ever been made, but also the greatest demonstration of love, gave  His one and only Son (John 3:16).  Do you know of any other time that a father sacrificed his son so that his enemies might have life?  That is exactly what God did for man (Romans 5:6-10).

This salvation is great because it has delivered us from the great consequence of unrepented sin—the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).  This lake of fire is not a temporal punishment, but an eternal one.  Jesus tells us that those who are found guilty on the day of judgment will be cast “into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). 

Another reason the Hebrews writer would refer to this salvation as great is that it involves a great reward—eternal life in a glorious home called heaven.  In heaven, all things that trouble us in this life will be gone forever (Revelation 21:1-4), and we will see God face to face (Revelation 22:4).

Because of this great salvation, there will be no escape for those who neglect it.  There is no excuse for not being saved today.  The Word of God is abundantly accessible, especially in this great country of ours.  God’s instructions are very understandable and easily followed.  If one is not saved it is only due to personal neglect.  The word neglect in Hebrews 2:3 means, “to be careless, make light of, or to not regard” (Strong).

As children of God, we can neglect this great salvation by giving in to the currents of compromise, spiritual coldness, or the temptations of carnality by which we are constantly surrounded.  Let’s not allow any of these things to cause us to drift away from the gospel (Hebrews 2:1) and lose our great salvation.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.